May I introduce a favorite author to you today? Following is brief excerpt from on of his best selling books:
By Max Lucado
God used Paul to touch the world. But he first used Ananias to touch Paul. Has God given you a similar assignment? Has God given you a Saul?… read more
Two days until Mothers Day. I have a true story about my mother I’ve wanted to share, so now’s the time, if ever. Yes, I am the oldest of twelve children, the first-born son. As I’ve grown older, I’m surprised to realize how few details I really know about my parent’s lives. What surprises me most is that I took my mother so for granted, and realized so little how much she loved me.
Three memories of her stand out from my very early years. The first is a lullaby I remember her singing over me when I was very small. Here are the words:
Now we’re going on a journey To the land of dreams so fair. Mother is the dearest captain And our boat’s a rocking chair.
All day long we have been playing, Dressed our dollies, played at tea, Jumped the rope and raced each other ‘Til we’re tired as tired can be.
Now the sun has ceased it’s shining, Ceased to give its golden light. Mother says ’tis time for children, Like the sun, to say, “Good night”.
Now I admit that as a boy, when I got a little older, I didn’t appreciate dressing dollies or playing tea, so I forgot it until I became the father.
A second thing I remember was that she taught me a little prayer when she put me to bed: “Now I lay me down to sleep; I pray the Lord my soul to keep. If I should die before I wake, I pray the Lord my soul to take.” It never became mine but it was never forgotten!
A third very meaningful memory is of sitting at the kitchen table with my two younger brothers. I was about four years old; my next brother was close to three, and the youngest was still in diapers in his highchair. Momma had left the room for a moment, when for some reason, I became upset with my baby brother, and dumped the sugar bowl upside down on the table.
Momma came back in, took one look, and asked me why I did it. I said, “He did it!” and pointed at my baby brother.
She stood there for a moment, just looking at me, then said quietly, “If you aren’t good, you won’t go to heaven.”
It sounded like a good place to go. I said, “I’ll go to heaven, then I’ll be good!”
She said, “No, you have to be good first, then you go to heaven.” She cleaned up the table without another word.
I remember thinking, “OK, I’ll be good.” (It didn’t happen overnight, but it turned my heart in the right direction.
What unconditional love! What quiet patience! What devotion she showed her children!
What a great reflection she was of God’s great love for mankind, His great patience with us, and His great devotion to our welfare!
God loves us so much that, in Christ, He suffered on the cross for us so we might be born again through His great agony. Then He comforts us and sings a lullaby over us: “The LORD your God is with you, he is mighty to save. He will take great delight in you, he will quiet you with his love, he will rejoice over you with singing” (Zephaniah 3:17).
God has appointed mothers to be a reflection of Him in our early years when we are most open to listening!
Seventeen years old. High school graduation coming up, with World War II still being fought on both the Western Front in Europe, and on the Eastern Front with Japan in the Pacific. Just eight months away from turning eighteen, I would be eligible for drafting into our armed forces.
Then my high school Principal asked if I would like to join the Army Reserves to study German for service as an interpreter. I prayed about it at length that night (I wanted very much to learn German!), but thought the Lord would rather have me become a paramedic to help save lives. So I finally gave the question to Jesus in total surrender, and had peace: Wherever you lead me, Lord, I’ll go.
When I woke up in the morning, I had perfect peace about the scholarship. Jesus seemed to say (in my mind), “It’s OK; don’t be concerned. You will never have to shoot anyone.” So I told the Principal, “Yes, I’d like that very much.” Soon after that, I was notified of acceptance, and ordered to report to Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, for induction into the U.S. Army Reserve Specialized Training Program.
After a physical exam, necessary red tape, orientation, and introduction into Army life by a First Sergeant who enjoyed “shaping up” two dozen raw recruits, I was sent to Kansas State College (now, “University”) for basic engineering studies.
Army discipline was no problem; I was prepared to “go with the flow.” But college surprised me…though I had to study for my classes in high school, I just coasted through with good grades. Now I had to STUDY every night!
Finished with the summer quarter (and not wanting to take calculus in the fall), I asked about the German language course. No, the Army now had all of the German language interpreters it needed…but the Japanese language program still had openings.
With some misgivings, I applied and was sent to Yale University (Berkeley College), New Haven, Connecticut, for the fall quarter to study Japanese language and culture, with a few other Liberal Arts courses thrown in.
Alongside, I read a couple of books from the library that were very liberal in theology and raised many questions about the accuracy of the Bible. The light in my life became like the dusk of evening; God had faded away because, of course, if the Bible isn’t true, then is God real? A dingy gray depression settled in, day after day.
One morning I decided to settle the question: What is a day like if God isn’t real? At the day’s end, nothing but dull; exactly the mindset I’d been living in lately.
So I thought, “Let learned men mock conversion as no more than a psychological experience if they will, I know that, at eleven years old, when I knelt down and asked forgiveness of God, He answered by filling me with Himself and His love. I know He’s real and that He’s still with me, so that’s settled… But Lord, what about the Bible?”
In that instant, God seemed to say, “Don’t be afraid of the Bible; keep digging until you find the answers. If it is true, you will have confirmed it; if it isn’t true, it is the greatest lie ever foisted on mankind.”
Going back to the same library shelf, I was amazed to be led directly to two books that answered every question. In sixty-eight years since, I have found the Bible to be the solid rock on which I can safely base every decision, with serenity and joy overflowing.
Someone has said, “It isn’t the parts of the Bible I don’t understand that bother me, it’s the parts that I do understand.” God never makes a mistake. He has caused it to be written, “Claiming to be wise, they became fools” (Romans 1:22) and “The fool says in his heart, there is no God” (Psalm 14:1).
Be aware that some college professors will deliberately question the Bible. Only a truly personal relationship with Jesus Christ will lead to correct answers. I truly love science. But science-vaccinated minds have a problem with God because they can’t reproduce Him…or His miracles! Only as they may humble themselves before Him, as many have…as He humbled Himself before us on the cross…only then can they experience Him!
(Army Basic Training? That would come later…after I turned eighteen!) Until next time . .
Blessings, Duane
